Looking for Nargles
by Yamazing
Summary: Luna likes Ginny. Ginny always makes more Nargles fly by than anyone else. When, finally and sadly, Ginny and Harry break up, she reevaluates what this might mean. I'd like to note that I've been informed that Nargles are actually a bad thing in canon... We're just going to ignore that one thing for now, and pretend they're good. Thanks?


"But Luna, you must realize that Nargles don't really exist. Right?" inquired Hermione, not for the first time.

Luna smiled obliviously, used to the denial of her friends by now. They just hadn't seen true Nargles yet. She thought, however, that Harry might be getting close. She saw it in his eyes when he spent time with Draco, more and more as time went on.

"Sure, Hermione."

Luna watched as Harry smiled apologetically at Luna and then Ginny, with his arm around her. He knew that Ginny didn't like it when people thought Luna was crazy, but Ginny wasn't looking at him. She already had a defensive look on her face and was opening her mouth to tell Hermione to be nicer.

As Ginny did this, Luna's heart filled with pride and fulfillment, and she saw a Nargle fly by. The thing about Nargles was that they weren't the easiest thing to spot. They took a trained eye, and they were almost just shimmers in the air a lot of the time. They also only appeared when the happy feeling ballooned inside of Luna.

Luna wasn't sure how she felt about Harry and Ginny dating, even after the war had ended and it had become apparent to most that they weren't extremely compatible. Most of her problem was just that she didn't think that they couldn't last in a healthy relationship, although there were occasional sparks of jealousy on her part. She tried not to indulge those. That part of her was ugly, as far as she was concerned.

However, when, about two weeks later, Ginny came into her room late at night with tear stains on her face and a hunched posture, clutching onto a safety pillow, Luna wasn't very surprised. Of course, she didn't express this. Instead, she put into action the plan that she had devised just in case.

"Come with me, Ginny."

Ginny sniffled, nodded, and let Luna lead her out of the room, down hallways, and eventually out of the school. As they neared the Forbidden Forest, Luna was happy to see that Ginny still followed her trustingly.

For some, the Forbidden Forest at night might've seemed or even _been_ dangerous, but Luna tended to get along with the various animals better than most. She easily found her way to the alcove she sometimes went to, and put down the blanket she had brought for them to lay on. She gently pried the pillow out of Ginny's arms, laying it down on the blanket for Ginny to lie on. Then Luna took Ginny's hand and pulled her down to lie next to Luna on the blanket. Together, they lied in comfortable silence for a long time.

"Do you want to talk about it, Ginny?" Luna finally gently broke the silence.

"Not really. Sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize."

They lapsed into silence again, until a long while later, when it was broken by Ginny this time.

"I think I want to talk about it now."

"Okay. Should I be silent?"

"Only if you want to. You probably figured because… well, you notice things, but Harry broke up with me today."

"Uhuh. I'm sorry."

Ginny sat up, getting ready to tell her story, clutching her knees to her chest and looking up at the beautiful sky. Luna sat up to match Ginny, and stared unabashedly at Ginny's profile. She decided she liked it.

"I think I was too," Ginny started, "but I feel better about it now. Our relationship wasn't really meant to be. It was forged during such a stressful time that we just wouldn't have normally meant anything more than friends to each other. And Harry said he wanted to be friends, and I didn't think I could, but now… It might take some time, but I think we can. Harry's pretty great, other than his awkwardness. Man," Ginny laughs weakly, "he is so bad at breaking up. He made everything worse. Maybe that was better in the end, because I think it let me, for a while, villainize him, which I kind of needed, but still."

"That sounds accurate. But hey, I think you've handled everything great, Ginny. Good job, really."

"Thanks Luna," the smile was audible in Ginny's voice. "Hey, could you maybe talk for a little while?"

"Sure. Is it okay if I talk about Nargles? I think I might've thought of a way to explain them better recently."

"Definitely, go ahead. I'm ready to finally get what you're talking about for once." Ginny had a special and fond way of saying it that made Luna more happy than anything else.

"Well, I think they're more a feeling than anything. They appear when I feel especially happy, as a kind of shimmery and translucent thing, so I think they might be some form of love. Does that make any sense?"

"Actually, yes. I get what you mean. Although I think it might still be a you thing," Ginny chuckles softly, "they sound great. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. It's nice that someone kind of gets it."

They sat in silence for a while

"Hey, Ginny?" Ginny turned her head sideways to smile at Luna.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to date me?"

Unexpectedly, Ginny's eyes popped and red quickly blossomed over her face, growing closer to the shade of her hair. Luna laughed in delight at the unexpected reaction.

"I, uh. Don't you that maybe it's," Ginny looked apologetic, like she didn't want to bring it up, but continued, "Maybe it's too soon after breaking up with Harry?"

Luna's eyebrows furrowed. She considered this. The aftereffects of crying were still clearly visible in Ginny's puffy eyes, which might have meant that it was too soon. Even so, Luna didn't think so. She knew what she wanted to convey to prove her point, but she had trouble finding the words. Then she remembered that she had finally explained Nargles to Ginny, so she would be able to understand.

"But Ginny, when I'm with you," Luna's smile shined brighter than ever, "I see Nargles so much! It's delightful! I want it to be like that all the time."

Ginny blushed further, but also grinned and a laugh escaped her.

"Oh, Luna." She looked down, still smiling, and Luna found herself entranced by Ginny's lowered eyelashes, that were a similar red to her hair, and stood out nicely on her face.

Ginny looked up again, and simply leaned forwards, turning her body more towards Luna, and pulled her into a warm and soft hug.

Luna enjoyed the hug, and relished in it for a fairly long time, but curiosity eventually got the better of her. Of course, she didn't pull back to ask the question on her mind, because there was no reason to deprive herself of Ginny's great hug.

"Is that a yes, then?"

Ginny grinned, pulling back and holding Luna's face still to look into her eyes. For a short moment, Luna almost pulled them back together because she didn't want the hug to end, but discovered that looking at Ginny's bright eyes was nice too.

"That's a yes."


End file.
